Ahead of the winter pollution season, the Haryana State Pollution Control Board (HSPCB) has identified over 400 non-compliant construction and demolition (C&D) sites in southern Gurugram and issued show-cause notices to developers, warning of closure, work-stoppage orders and heavy environmental compensation fines if violations are not rectified within a week, officials said on Saturday.
The notices, seen by HT, were issued on September 10 for failing to install mandated pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras and air quality sensors. Officials said inspections this week found around 350 sites had started meeting the compliance requirements, while the remaining sites will be inspected and action taken in case of non-compliance.
Under Commission for Air Quality Management (CAQM) directives, all projects with a plot area of 500 square metres or more must register on the state’s dust mitigation portal and install geo-fenced PTZ cameras and low-cost PM2.5 and PM10 particulate sensors. Live video feeds through Real-Time Streaming Protocol (RTSP) must be integrated via application programming interfaces (APIs) with the state pollution portal and CAQM’s Integrated Command and Control Centre (ICCC) in Delhi.
“During our virtual verification drives, we found that over 400 project sites across southern Gurugram had either not installed PTZ cameras covering the required viewing angles, lacked real-time integration with the portal, or had defunct air monitors,” a senior HSPCB official told HT, asking not to be named. The virtual verification involved the department cross-checking the construction sites identified on the ground against the projects registered on its portal for remote monitoring, he added.
{{/usCountry}}“During our virtual verification drives, we found that over 400 project sites across southern Gurugram had either not installed PTZ cameras covering the required viewing angles, lacked real-time integration with the portal, or had defunct air monitors,” a senior HSPCB official told HT, asking not to be named. The virtual verification involved the department cross-checking the construction sites identified on the ground against the projects registered on its portal for remote monitoring, he added.
{{/usCountry}}Officials said inspections found missing cameras, broken video links, blind spots covering excavation and demolition, and failure to submit mandatory self-audit and compliance sheets.
The drive follows a high-level review meeting chaired by CAQM leadership earlier this month, where regional pollution control authorities were instructed to adopt a zero-tolerance policy.
“Project proponents have been granted a tight window of five to seven days to operationalise the cameras, ensure continuous live streaming to the central portal, and provide compliance reports. If they fail to comply, teams will be deployed to seal the premises, cut utility supplies where required, and slap substantial environmental penalties,” the official added.
The five-to-seven-day compliance window has already expired, with the deadline ending on September 17. Officials said around 50 sites were still found to be non-compliant after the deadline, and ground inspections of these sites will now be conducted before finalising further action against them.
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